Random ramblings and observations

HAPPY!!! SO HAPPY!!!

I love feeling happy! It’s doesn’t happen probably as much as it should but when it does, POW! Its consuming and delicious.

The reason for my happiness is something close to home; the Scottish referendum happened over the course of the last 48 hours and Scotland voted NO to independence. I spent the last two days feeling almost sick to my stomach at the thought my beloved county was facing the possibility of being broken up and plunged into uncertainty, however that was thankfully not to be. I was up until 3am this morning glued to my laptop as I watched the live stream of Scotland Decides from the BBC and I now know they are all to have a driech day weather wise (dreary, wet and stormy).

But with my personal elation come other peoples heartbreak. Although the NO vote won, it wasn’t by a landslide. Glasgow was the only major city to secure a strong YES vote followed by Dundee while Aberdeen and Edinburgh remained the opposite. From the very first result the surprises kept coming for the SNP and unfortunately it got clearer and clearer that people just didn’t want to risk putting their country into turmoil without a strong plan for the future. The bullying and the scare-tactics used bruised and battered both sides of the division to the point it got vicious towards the end; people’s homes were vandalized, posters constantly being torn down or burnt and folks forced to leave their towns to avoid being ostracized for their opinion. At the end of the day the quiet uncertainty screamed the loudest and the UK is to remain a united nation.

I do hope, however, the government takes this result as a serious learning curve; for a long time they brushed the referendum off, thinking there was absolutely no possibility it would cause a separation and they were caught with their pants down 3 months before now with a sudden realization that actually, yes, Scotland might go that way. Talk about a mad scramble! Right now they are probably praising themselves for all their hard work but it seems it was done right in the end rather than all through the 2 years this process has taken. The YES campaign deserve recognition for their dedication to the cause. If that determination can come about for something as positive as wanting a better life for all Scots then it should be channeled correctly and used for the good of the country. It should also be noted that the 90% turnout for the vote is historical and if those numbers came out for every election I’m sure people would feel a little more in control.

Politics is politics and there will never be something in place that appeases everyone but I do hope that the lessons put forward from this event is taken seriously and is followed through to give the people of Scotland a stronger voice and an equal footing in the affairs of the country. I am proud to have witnessed these events and even prouder the UK remains the UK.